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the impact agriculture has on our food supply

by A.B on April 20, 2018 - 4:00pm

Summary 4(Oceans and Fisheries/Agriculture)

The article I found is from the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). The article points out how agriculture and fisheries are highly dependent on the climate. Climate change, will have affects on food security on a global level. Warmer oceans, higher overall temperatures, drought and extreme weather events like hurricanes and flooding will all impact food sources. Changes in the oceans temperature may affect salmon and increase the likelihood of disease. Warmer waters have already caused outbreaks in disease in coral, eelgrass, and abalone. Water acidic levels are increasing, which affect shellfish by weakening their shells. In addition, we have overfished our oceans and pollution is reaching our oceans via dumping or entering via rivers systems. There is concern that severe warming, floods and droughts may reduce agriculture yields. Extreme temperature and heavy rain can prevent crops from growing. Floods and droughts can reduce or wipeout crops. If summer temperatures are too high, it will cause soil to become drier. Increased CO2 levels will cause farmers to use more pesticides to combat weeds that thrive in higher CO2 levels meaning cost of food will go up, not to mention the possible impact on human health. Livestock because of heat stress will be more inclined to disease, a reduction in fertility and a reduction in milk production. Drought would reduce the amount of pastures for grazing livestock. Earlier springs and warmer winters would allow for parasites and pathogens to survive more easily.

Opinion: All this means is that while population increases, we will have less food produced which means cost will go up. The poorer countries that depend on the oceans to provide food will have a hard time getting what they need. Land drying up means less area to grow crops and livestock will be reduced. All this is a perfect mix to cause a humanitarian crisis on a global level.